Plea Deal Reached In 2005 Slaying Of Man

March 02, 2007|By MATT BURGARD; Courant Staff Writer

NEW BRITAIN — A local man is facing up to 42 years in prison after he agreed to a plea bargain Thursday in the cold-blooded shooting of another man who had been spotted kissing the girlfriend of one of the suspect's close friends.

Agustin Morales-Rojas, 24, pleaded guilty to murder under the Alford doctrine, which means he does not admit committing the crime but concedes the state has enough evidence to convict him at trial.

Morales-Rojas was arrested two years ago in the slaying of 25-year-old Taleb Ismail in a parked car on Tremont Street. Police said Morales-Rojas carried out the murder on behalf of a friend, Adalberto Vazquez, who wanted Ismail dead because he had been spotted kissing Vazquez's girlfriend while Vazquez was on a trip to Puerto Rico, authorities said.

At Superior Court in New Britain, prosecutor Kevin Murphy said that Vazquez provided Morales-Rojas with a .38-caliber handgun and asked his friend to kill Ismail. On July 13, 2005, Morales-Rojas contacted Ismail and asked him to give him a ride to his home, Murphy said.

When the car pulled up on Tremont Street, Murphy said, Morales-Rojas shot Ismail at least once in the head and ran away. When police responded, they found the engine of Ismail's car running and the headlights still on.

Vazquez has already been sentenced to 13 years in prison for his part in the crime. Murphy said he had sought a sentence of 50 years for Morales-Rojas, but agreed to reduce the length of the term to 42 years during plea negotiations with Judge Patrick Clifford.

The lawyer for Morales-Rojas, public defender Todd Edgington, has the right to argue for a lesser term when Morales-Rojas is sentenced on May 3. Edgington has argued that Morales-Rojas reluctantly fired one shot at Ismail because he was afraid that Vazquez would harm him if he didn't agree to shoot Ismail.

According to testimony in a November evidence hearing, members of Ismail's family called Vazquez shortly afterward and told him they knew he had been responsible for the crime.

``We found out you did it,'' the family members told Vazquez, according to the testimony.

``What would you do if it was your girl?'' Vazquez responded, according to testimony.

Murphy said the judge has indicated that he is not likely to hand out a lighter sentence than 42 years to Morales-Rojas.

Murphy said Ismail's family members, who have followed the case closely and were not happy with the sentence handed down to Vazquez in November, are also unhappy with the plea agreement reached with Morales-Rojas. The family's lawyer, Justin Smith, was unavailable for comment Thursday.